Respect For Animals Quotes

“Indigenous religious traditions around the world continue to provide an ancient yet living vision of nature as sacred, requiring human respect and entailing human responsibilities. Anymals are understood to be “people” living in community as humans live in community—all of whom are part of a larger community of living beings. Indigenous religious traditions teach people that we owe respect, responsibility, and compassion to our nonhuman kin, and remember a time of great peace, before predation began. Most indigenous peoples believe that all beings are endowed with souls. Anymals are generally thought to hold exceptional abilities and remarkable powers.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“Hindu religious traditions hold nature to be sacred and offer a philosophy of ahimsa, karma, reincarnation, and oneness that [points to] a vegan diet. . . . Gods, humans, and anymals are sometimes indistinguishable: A Hindu god might manifest as human, tortoise, man-lion, or elephant-headed human; a small, playful monkey might turn out to be the powerful god Hanuman. As gods, and through their own special powers, anymals are spiritually powerful in the Hindu tradition, and provide innumerable lessons and worthy examples for human beings. Humans are obligated to live a life of ahimsa, which requires Hindus to speak up in defense of those who are exploited.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“The Buddha lived close to nature and anymals, and exemplified compassion. Buddhist practice is rooted in ahimsa, metta, and karuna, and the first Buddhist precept prohibits killing. Buddhist philosophy teaches that harming other living beings is inimical to the spiritual life because we cannot avoid harming our own future through acts of cruelty due to reincarnation and karma. Buddhist philosophy also teaches that there is no independent self; we are part of an interconnected and interdependent universe. Anymals are inherently worthy of our respect and care; in light of years of reincarnation, they are our loved ones. Buddhist morality and practice requires human beings to actively strive to help anymals, and to fearlessly protect every sentient and suffering being.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“Confucian traditions teach that all beings stem from one source, the Great Ultimate, and participate in the Great Unity. Ren (love or benevolence) is the essence of all that is good in humanity, and extends across species, as exemplified in the noble person (junzi).”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“Daoism also encourages people to love deeply and live compassionately (ci), to exercise restraint and frugality (jian), to seek harmony, and to practice wuwei (action as nonaction). Daoist precepts speak often and strongly against harming any creature, whether by disturbing their homes or eating their bodies. Guanyin, the most popular Chinese deity, exemplifies deep compassion for all beings. The Zhuangzi highlights basic similarities between humans and anymals, and encourages people to treat all beings with care and respect.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“The Christian spiritual life is modeled on the life of Jesus, champion of the oppressed, servant to those in need, protector of the abused, and humble defender of the downtrodden—a man who was not afraid to destroy the property of capitalists who willfully defiled that which God had made sacred. Exemplary Christians, especially saints, reveal that those who are close to God are compassionate and merciful servants, living close to nature and tending anymals. Most fundamentally, Christians are called to love.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“Islamic sacred writings reveal all of nature—all anymals—as created and tended by Allah, and destined to be drawn back to the divine. Sacred writings reveal a compassionate Creator; Muhammad models kindness; as viceregents, Muslims are expected to be merciful and compassionate. In Islamic religious traditions, the role of Muslims is one of submission and service to Allah—of tending creation on behalf of the Creator. Each living being is an individual in the Islamic worldview, a devoted servant of Allah, living in her or his separate yet similar community. While we have no rights over other creatures, anymals are granted rights under Islamic law, such as freedom from cruelty and protection during times of war.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“I took a good look at those dogs, out of whom gelatine and soap would be made, and I said to myself: You wait a little, you human master race, I'll teach you, I'll teach you to respect life. I'm going to have it out with you, and with your gas chambers, your atomic bombs and your need for soap . . . That evening I got together two or three lads off the roads —two from the Baltic states and a Polish Jew — and we carried out a little commando raid on the pound — gave the keepers a good thrashing, set the dogs free and the hut on fire.”
― Romain Gary, The Roots of Heaven